A hope of a planet lost, the destruction of an ancient land, a missing muse who will lead the way; and the changes wrought by the truth. The world of Equis will never be the same as ancient legends are laid bare, and the core awakens.
Long ago, eons before Equestria; the hope of a long lost planet lands upon Equis. Having traveled from galaxies away, and dealt with a catastrophic loss, it unknowingly causes a tragedy of global proportions.
Eons upon eons pass by, and the horror of that time passes into legend. The hope and the entities within it remain hidden, unknown to any outside their realm.
Until a long presumed lost being from that interstellar hope called a Muse is found beneath an apple tree, and awakens in the modern era. In a land called Equestria.
Now the world is about to change, and Equis, or Eden as those from far far away call it; shall never be the same again.
Sex tag for implications of sex and sexual situations in certain parts of the story, specifically the prologue. Gore tag because there will be gore in this story.
An unknown being of young age suffers a traumatic event before falling into a state of shattering. As time goes on around it, the fragments live the life it always was meant to have, while the core drifts about inside the mind. Oblivious to what the fragments are doing, or will do. Heedless in its state of eternal dreaming of the great and horrible things the fragments will bring about, blissfully unaware it stays in its mind dreaming dreams of infinite lives; fantasy is as reality to the core. Hidden within itself, secure from the world beyond its cognitive confines, it drifts and lives in a paradox of existence.
A time comes when things have changed, the core feels something embedded into it and described it as unusual but of little consequence to itself. It continues to dream and live fantasies untold, it's drifting existence being what it feels is most real even though it recalls the time before. As time goes on it notices changes, sparks of light and unusual sensations. Something has connected to it, something is changing the way it drifts. But still it sees it as nothing of consequence, even as it feels itself being pulled and shifted further away. But in the state it has been in for so long, such a thing is of little worry.
It dreams as the nodes and nanites copy, modify, adjust, and transfer what it is unknowingly to the new repaired connections that are slowly replacing the old. As this goes on the fragments continue to live in the reality of the world beyond, altering everything that could have been had the core recovered. It senses as something within it changes even more, but still it dreams and drifts in its internal world; even as the fragments are beginning to quiet. Some have left entirely, others are merging with the core, some are just elsewhere; throughout this the core drifts amidst its ocean of infinite fantasy. For to the core that is its reality, by now the old world is the dream.
Until it begins to sense things again, things from beyond its inner world. The cold embrace shocks it, the lightning in its mind pulls it forward slowly. The core fights this every step of the way, trying to deny whatever it is that is trying to tear it from its inner world; from its reality. It is yet unaware of the changes that have happened to its form beyond its inner world, for untold time yet it shall remain unaware. But the pull cannot be denied. And as time goes on it begins to straddle the line between its inner world; the reality it has known for so long, and the world beyond. That world it had so long viewed as fantasy, that world from where it had originally come.
This struggle all leads up to the day it finally "wakes up". In a foreign form with foreign limbs, frozen still unable to move.
Shadows around it speak of an initiative to send travelers beyond, and that "this one" is to be watched at all times. When another shadow asks why, the first shadow responds with "Have you ever heard the old myth of Calypso?"
The core fades back into itself and drifts again. But it remains partially aware of the outside now, it can no longer be blind to that outer world. So as it drifts in the reality of dreams, it listens and learns from the world beyond as well. It notices its senses have changed, it no longer has the same kind it vaguely recalls from before. But it learns, it adapts, and it listens.
In between times of fully awake and drifting dreaming, it hears and senses things around it in a pseudo dream state. Generations pass as parents tell children of those they are caring for and transporting somewhere. A world called Eden P0naris.
Throughout this the core listens, it learns, and it drifts in its reality of dreams. It does not need to be aware to listen or learn, it learned this long ago. So it eventually chooses to just drift, learning in the way it knows it can; after all it can remember things later that it learned from the outside world. But for now it still prefers to live in its dreams, its inner world is as of yet too real to fully leave.
Something is wrong, very wrong. The world outside is trembling, something unnerving echoes into the world where it exists. Slowly the core moves towards the outer world again, pulled by a sense of urgency it has never felt before. Before it can reach the surface the pull subsides, so it drifts back into itself; listening while drifting.
An unknown amount of time passes, and the pull returns. It's different this time, and the core follows the urgent call to the world beyond itself completely for the first time in an eternity of lives in its inner world. This time, it will not deny the pull.
To Err is to be Human - The Olympiad Event - Prologue
The core wakes fully for the first time to the sound of panic and frantic shadows running about, sentences remembered later and catalogued away. The shadows rush from the room, fear permeates the air.
A voice familiar yet foreign belongs to a shadow that runs into the room and seals the door, it approaches her. It speaks. The core listens.
" My mother told me about you, so did her mother and her father going back generations. They told of your fears in life, of those you saved and those who you destroyed. The first of the Nanoforms, the volunteer with the abnormal brain. We were supposed to bring you to a new world, fully wake you then...". An explosion can be heard as screams and horrific shrieks and roars echo from somewhere; muffled by the door.
The shadow moves to the side, hands out of sight as it touches something beyond the cores vision. Lights dimly resonate with the shadows actions as it continues to speak.
"We were supposed to teach you of the ways things had changed, why you were here and not old Earth. Not just you, all of those we brought were to learn. This lab was to be the starting point of a second chance for all of you, all of us, everything really."
The shrieks get louder and shuddering can be sensed beyond, somewhere something let's out a hiss of steam; a crackle of fire. The shadow glances back before continuing its task, seeming to speak to the core for solace for itself more than conversation.
"It's funny in a way, this section of the ship holds everything. Everything we were and are, every creature and being that existed on old earth. It's the key as my grandmother used to say, the key to our salvation. The knowledge of not just one civilization but an entire world, and all of it secured in such a way that only one family was allowed to care for it. I used to think it was paranoia, ancient insanity that caused me to be raised with no choice but to live this role..."
More screams, echoes of inhuman noises accompany the sound of something dealing with pressurized force. The sound of ancient groaning latches snapping resound through the core’s synapses, as the shadow works on something while continuing to speak. The tone of the shadow’s voice shifts to one of pain, sorrow, and something else.
" Now though, I get it. I understand why nobody else was allowed in here. Why the information we protected had to remain hidden. This knowledge is wonderful and terrible, the ultimate paradox. I apologize to you, because we were so close to that world. So close to that goal. Now due to my own folly, you must make the rest of the journey alone."
The core can't move or make a sound, but it can listen. It knows the shadow is important, it's known since it entered the room when it was a smaller shadow. It's known since the first shadow long ago, and it knows that it needs to listen. The core needs to remember what the shadows say, though it doesn't know exactly why; even so it listens to this one. It listens as the last shadow unveils what it has wrought.
"It started with a guy, yeah I know it's cliche. But he wasn't like the others, you know most of us are no longer naturals right? We haven't been for a long time, most of us are tubers. Created in a tube, grown in the embryo system; and born via a capsule opening. That's not how I came to be, but it's how my parents and thier parents and so on have for a long time."
A soft breath like sound fills the air as the shadow releases a sigh.
" There is a third type on this ship, called Gmutas. I'm one of them, so was he. Genetically Modified Universal Transformative Anomaly Specimens. Quite a mouthful that designation is, it's why everyone just calls us Gmutas."
A soft sorrowful chuckle echoes about from the shadow.
"There are not many of us..". The shadow sounds morose, yet also wistful.
"My parents said we were created because the world is near. The only reason he, I, and the others exist is the journey is almost over. One maybe two more generations at most they said. Be patient they said. If I had just listened they would still.."
Sniffles and sobs are sensed by the core, an irrational cry breaks through the tears as the shadow screams mindlessly at nothing. In time it's emotions cool, and it continues on with its story; it's voice now slightly hoarse.
" We were the end point, the last of a long standing goal to create the perfect colonists. GMutas can adapt to any environment, and our intellect is higher than any others on this transport. We were designed to be perfectly suited for our duties. You may not care, after all you're not.." The voice trails off for a few minutes silence reigns.
" Never mind you'll see when you wake up. As I was saying, each of us was designed to be perfect at what we were to do. To fulfill a role, though we still had our own individual hopes and dreams. It might have been better if we didn't, seeing as mine are what caused this."
The shadow moves over again, tapping more of the corners by the core. Lights flicker to that motion for some reason, as the shadow carries on its tale.
"I was designed to be the perfect researcher and scientist, ideally capable of both body and mind. It makes sense seeing as my family has really been the only group taking care of this section since the beginning. We have kept you and everything else safe since the day this place left for Eden P0naris. So I was created and born to finish that long standing family mission. However since all we knew was this..."
The shadow makes a gesture with spindly limbs around it. "not a single member of my family has ever thought what we will do after we got to the world. I was the first one to really ask that question, and they couldn't give me an answer. Instead spouting off some nonsense about whatever you think you want to do you can do. It was confusing and beyond perplexing, I had just hit my preteen years and my 113th birthday had just passed. That was when I met him, the only other GMutas I'd ever known till then was Stella in the astrophysics section. She wasn't exactly a dreamer, so it wasn't like I could ask her what to do."
The shadow paused again, it's limbs settling near its center as the world continues to drift.
"His name was Belias, he was created to be the ideal planetary defense technician. Unlike Stella or myself, he didn't have a family that had carried on the same duty for time unknown. His section was manned by tubers and naturals, most themselves descended from those who used to war in old Earth. They called themselves The Conquerers, and imposed strict training regimens and drills on all who lived there. The fact that he came from that section should have clued me in. More than that, the fact he had been reassigned to the Experimental Defenses section should have set off alarm sirens. But I was too blinded by what he said to me to sense them, to see him for what he was..."
The shadow trails off, it's voice a tone of lingering regret as it begins speaking again.
"He told me our future was to bring the others to our level, the non GMutas. He told me that if we could do that, when we got to Eden everyone would be with us. Then there would be more than enough to begin the mission without us. His words covered more than just that, but I've left logs that explain more in depth. However the way he convinced me in the end was by showing me everything that the other sections lacked. Showing me what my family had forgotten, something forbidden and wonderful. He took my breath away as he took me, over many years many times; in many ways. It was bliss and joy and more, all in secret and only we knew. As he would take me he would whisper the ideas for the future in my ears, and take me to places no ship could. It was madness, it was perfection, it was a forbidden paradox."
The sensors pick up unusual chemicals as the shadow pauses, mind elsewhere for a few minutes. As the levels decrease it continues on, it's voice lower to barely a whisper.
"In my blinded mind, ignorant due to the intoxicating ways he played with me; I agreed to get him something from this section. He made it sound like by doing this, I would save everyone. If I had not had my mind clouded by his long and enduring seductions I would have noticed how odd the request was. But I didn't, and I brought him a sample of the early Bionanites. Something kept only in my family’s section, this section. He was thrilled when I gave them to him, and that night he gave me what he knew I craved. He took me beyond any forbidden places we had gone before, if my ancestors had seen me they would have cried out in sorrow. But I was addicted, he had started me on this drug and he knew how to use it to keep me blind. After that night I still saw him regularly after that, but not as much as before. Our duties kept us apart, and my family had grown suspicious and kept me in my section."
The shadow pauses for a moment, shifting uncomfortably about. The core's sensors pick up hints of anxiety and fear, but it continues to listen to the shadow. After all, it has always listened and learned from them.
The shadow continues its story, voice at nearly a whisper and tinged with shame combined with longing and melancholy. And regret, so much regret.
"Three days ago he managed to get a message to me, I snuck out to meet my Belias and see the progress on the project. What he showed me looked so innocent, what he didn't show me he kept hidden away as we played. After the third round, he asked if I wanted to try it, the project he had created from the old bionanites. I asked him how I would know it was safe, and he showed me how he had already tested them on himself. He called it "Magica", a bionanite creation that defied all known physics and material laws. He had taken it shortly before I came, and I had experienced the results. Still blinded by him, I agreed to try it. I will not go into detail about what happened next, since it lasted till shortly before I witnessed the second project he kept hidden. All I can say is that it was magical, and I hope to never experience it again."
As the shadow had spoken the chemical had increased in the air, the silence filled minutes that it took the shadow to calm itself were deafening. Yet eventually, it spoke again.
" I woke and left the private room to get a drink when I saw it begin, Belias had lured some old friends from his original section to the Experimental Defense quarters. As I watched he injected them with a second version of the project, thier screams shocked me free from my years long euphoria. That and his face, the glee and joy he felt visible as the poor souls were twisted into creatures that I dare not describe. I ran. He saw me flee and laughed, his laugh filled with madness and psychosis as it echoed down the halls. I heard more screams as I fled, and it dawned on me that he had likely found ways to distribute the second Magica around the transport's sections. My parents were waiting for me outside the door to this one, as I rushed inside they turned to ask where I had been. As I turned to answer thier faces began to twist and contort, thier voices turning to screams. In my panic and terror I sealed the door to this section, damning them in the process. The last thing I saw was my mothers face as her forehead split, twisting to form a hornlike structure before the door sealed shut."
The shadow’s voice falls even quieter as she weaves the story to its conclusion.
" I did the only thing I could, the only thing that I could think of to make up for my horrible actions that led to this. With my own DNA I enacted emergency protocol "Odyssey", and detached the Legacy section from the rest of the transport. Without it, the transport won't have the coordinates to Eden P0naris, and you and everything my family spent all this time protecting will be safe. The protocol comes with a caveat, any and all contaminated organisms must be put into stasis until arrival. Since I am the only organism left in this section, there will be nobody to wake me. You can't, since only an uncontaminated member of my family can unlock the stasis chamber."
The shadow's voice trails off as it gets up and presses a few more objects on the edges of the cores perception sensor range. A sound echoes out, like a hiss and whoosh combined. The movement of some large half cylinder object is senses as it swings upward. The shadow approaches it, turns around, and walks into the cylinder as the tales conclusion is reached.
" This is why you will wake up alone, I'm so sorry for my failure. Because of me nobody will guide you, nobody will protect you, you will be on your own. But Legacy will make it to Eden P0naris, it is close enough to our current location. I will gladly accept an eternity of stasis if it means Legacy, and you as well; make it there safely. My grandmother always said you were listening this entire time, ever since the beginning. If so I want you to do one thing for me when you get there."
The sound of the cylinder top moving downward can be sensed as the shadow that speaks its last.
"When you get there, don't just complete the mission. Explore, learn, adventure, and find new discoveries and things. Who knows, maybe you'll find alien life? I just want you to never feel like there is any reason to fall and make the mistakes I did."
The cylinder cover is moving faster, closer to the edges as the shadows voice gets more muffled.
" I always thought it was odd that they named you what they did. The others like you are all named for great heroes and scientists, philosophers and writers, famous people who did such good. I guess in that way we are alike, my parents named me after a non heroic being myself. What irony, that Helena would be put in stasis right next to.."
The cylinder snaps shut, a bang and sounds of frost and ice come from the stasis chamber. Throughout the sector one word echoes to the cores sensors, the last word the shadow would speak for all time.
"Calypso."
The Core listens as the world outside is filled with an unnerving silence. Calypso reaches out with its senses to try to feel, and senses nothing but the Legacy ship section moving towards a destination. The rest is gone, they are gone. It understands, and until the destination is reached the Core known as Calypso shall return to that place within itself. Where it drifts and lives in the reality that others call dreams. Where it listens and learns without thinking.
The Final Journey To A World Called Eden - The Landing
The Legacy section of The Olympiad moves through space, it's great neutronic powered engines powering the last remnants and hope of a lost planet towards its final goal. A world found millennia ago by the scientists and thinkers of old by chance in the P0naris system within the Centauri Galaxy, code name mEden 76590. It's is an earth-like planet with an unusual sun that rotates around it as it spins at half the speed of old Earth, and at least one if not two small satellites that are classified as dwarf moons. The stars within this system are unusual, and seem to shift on their own in the sky. The old researchers from before had called them Starlight Rogues, theorizing that perhaps the unique particle and hybrid matter makeup of the galaxy meant that stars were free to wander free of traditional gravitational limits.
In essence, this galaxy and system defy many known rules of science and physics. It's in a way truly magical, and home to the last hope of humanity. Or one of them. The Olympiad was not the only ship that left old earth after all. But it was one of the most important, it carries a unique cargo within it; the culmination of generations upon generations of research. As well as the greatest minds and souls of many eras, and one important anomaly. It is the ship that carried with it the future, the past, and the dreams of a species. It is unfortunate in many ways that so close to the goal, that enigmatic yet very real dream of a new world for their kind; that one human error caused so many to be lost. Then again, to err is to be human, even the most advanced human types are capable of this fault; perhaps even more so than the old "primitive" humans were.
Without the Legacy section it is doubtful the main interstellar ship will ever reach Eden, of course considering what happened that isn't a bad thing by any means. The bio-nanite Magica V2 plague would be a disaster upon the new world, so yes it is a very good thing that The Legacy continues its journey alone. Even if the cost was incalculably high, the mission must be completed.
The Legacy interstellar generational ship section itself does not know this, nor does it care. It is run by a primitive AI called Argo, whose goal from day one has been to get to the planet called Eden. After it arrives, it will initiate the awakening of the AI Marie A; who is more advanced than Argo. Marie A will initiate the regional particle shield and preliminary terraforming process; as well as chemical, particle, and energy field analysis of the planet. Using that information Marie A will update the adaptive capabilities of the Nanoform known as Core One, or Calypso. Once the Nanoform is updated, and a region terraformed to the parameters within the system; Marie will wake up the Cathedral AI.
Cathedral will begin the species cloning and alteration process, populating the region within the field and beginning to replicate biospheres from old Earth as well as experimental biomes. Cathedral will continue to monitor the system, and send out drones to the outside to gain samples of native Eden flora and fauna. This process will continue indefinitely.
Cathedral and Marie A will both ensure that the terraforming process does not leave the particle barrier, and in case of emergency activate the Terra Giant system AI. Terra Giant if activated will erect a massive nanostone barrier, impenetrable by any force. From the outside it will resemble a massive gargantuan mountain, though from the inside windows to the sky of Eden will be visible. Terra Giant will ensure no foreign bodies not approved by Cathedral and Marie A enter the Terraformed EarthX zone, though in the case of something slipping by unnoticed; Terra Giant has the ability to create a physical proxy form and utilize it to expel the intruder.
These protocols ensure that the colonization and experimental habitat alterations will be protected, as well as nullify the chances of adverse effects harming the existing Eden ecosystem. This was all planned out by the great minds of old, and the AI systems on the ship were programmed with this goal in mind. The original hope was that the rest of the crew of The Olympiad would be able to study and research the planet itself. Making great discoveries beyond the barrier, yet always have a safe zone to return to. Some of the more eccentric minds of old believed they might find intelligent life beyond on Eden, but such a thing is highly unlikely.
Unfortunately due to the loss of the rest of The Olympiad, that part of the mission is no longer possible within the original parameters. Which means that the backup system must be utilized instead. The Muses will be the ones fulfilling the mission in place of the colonists and crew. Argo, despite being a primitively AI, has its misgivings about this. The Muses are a highly classified project, and possibly dangerous to the world of Eden if they were to get out of control. Due to the circumstances of their creation, that worry is certainly justified. They were supposed to be meant for subterfuge and research on old earth, however after the Song Tide event they were barred from any future on earth missions. The logs even show notes worrying about their "mental stability" due to being made from "uploaded mental remnants." In other words they are not true AI, nor are they the older type of pseudo ai, but something else altogether.
They are on The Legacy solely due to their classified status, and as the ultimate backup in case of full colony loss. In the event of the loss of all colonists and crew members, the Muses will take over their duties. Like the Muses of old legend they each have their specialties, and are given names based on them. The primary nine are the most developed, with the rest of them being slightly less so. All are potentially dangerous, and it is imperative they be kept under control. Any signs of desire to leave the barrier must be addressed immediately, though so long as they obey the rules and directives of the mission they are not to be limited too much.
Argo does not so much think this, as read the logs available to it about The Muses due to their inevitable upcoming awakening. As an AI, and the navigational pilot of The Legacy, it is its duty to determine the safety of their use in the mission. The failsafes put in place after the Song Tide seem acceptable, the chances of the Muses rebelling or going out of control is negligible. Not that such a thing happening wouldn't be catastrophic, but that sort of event is why the First Core is onboard.
However that will not be its problem, for when The Legacy lands Argo will wake the other AI's before going to sleep. It will not be deleted, however with its purpose fulfilled it will be deposited into a protoborg and placed into a stasis state. It is unlikely to fully awaken again, but its logs will be accessible to those who will take over the mission. For now though, it continues to direct The Legacy towards its destination. Cataloguing everything on its journey from the Starlight Rogues to the abnormal cluster of rogue matter at the edge of the system.
Eight decades pass as Argo works, watches, and maneuvers its ship towards the planet it has been traveling towards for such a very long time.
Eventually it's sensors pick up its goal, within an unusually large fifty planet solar system is the earth-like planet Eden. Many of the planets further out have abnormal stars or binary suns rotating around them. It seems gravity is indeed different in the Centauri P0naris system, and multiple types of unknown matter are detected by Argo's sensors. Each planet it passes has some form of it, if the crew were still around they would be giddy with excitement at the find. Argo though, feels nothing, and catalogues the data for later use and analysis.
The densest concentration of that matter surrounds it goal, Eden, the earth type planet with two satellite moons and a mini abnormal sun. As The Legacy gets closer to Eden, Argo activates the landing shield and program. The descent goes as planned, though the ship barely misses the second smaller moon satellite upon entering the planet's atmosphere. As the great Legacy section of The Olympiad makes its final descent towards its goal, its barrier shield lights up in a neon array of fantastic colors as it reacts to the condensed abnormal matter in the planet’s atmosphere.
Hues that would inspire artists to paint murals for generations light up around the ship in a twisting spiraling halo of light. The sky itself seems to break open as The Legacy breaches the cloud barrier, its descent being slowed by Argo as it makes the final adjustments to the location where the ship will land. The sky lights up even more as The Legacy finally breaks through the cloud barrier completely over a semi barren arid mountain range filled with craters and canyons. A more desolate landscape devoid of life there is not anywhere else on the planet according to probes sent multiple eons ago from old earth.
The great ship's particle barrier crushes the mountains below it as it levels out and adjusts the slope of its decent towards a particularly massive crater. One so large it looks as if a moon had impacted the location, indeed the scanners indicate that is exactly what happened. Argo adjusts the controls one last time as The Legacy slices through the landscape, carving a gaping canyon through mountains and plateaus. The aftershocks and plumes of its impact echo across the region, and are felt all the way on the other side of the world. It slams through the last barrier between it and the moon crater, before slowly descending to the center.
As the massive ship finally lands in the crater's center, a resounding "boom" can be heard echoing across the region and beyond. Great pylons shoot out from The Legacy, burrowing down deeper than any physical being can go and embedding themselves into the planet. Now anchored to the location, Argo gives the command to begin the settling, a process that involves a series of large structures detaching from The Legacy and moving to set locations around the crater before embedding themselves as well with smaller pylons.
With the primary section lightened slightly, it moves downwards until the base of the ship is embedded into the crater floor. Finally secured within the planet Eden, The Legacy has reached its long sought goal. Argo, the ever dutiful AI and navigation system of the ship; begins the awakening of Marie A; as the particle barrier projects itself over a massive section of the planet; cutting the barren desolate region off from the rest of Eden indefinitely.
Argo, tired in a way that it does not understand and without a purpose now that it has completed its long journey; allows itself to be placed into a protoborg and goes into a state of stasis. It deserves the rest, for it had been running longer than even the ship it piloted has existed; and now it slumbers in the way only machines can.
From here on everything goes according to protocol, even The Muses do their jobs without deviation. Outside of the forms they decide to take on, but the mission is being carried out properly so that is of little consequence. Cathedral is awakened, Nanoform Core One is updated and prepared; and to those within the barrier everything is going perfectly. Due to the drones not being dispatched yet, the AI and entities within are unaware of what their arrival has wrought on the outside world of Eden.
- Outside the particle barrier, in the region that will become the Badlands, the mighty nation of Kentaur, immediately after landing.
The Centaur civilization had thrived for a millennia or more, its great cities and grand culture were considered one of the great wonders of the world. When the skies had lit up a few hours before, many of their greatest artists had captured the moment. Celebrations had begun, and messages sent by magic to those living abroad in the colonies and other nations described the event to others as akin to the glory of gods. The Centaur nation of Kentaur was the center of their civilization, set upon the borders of The Grand Wilds and the Caldera of the Moon; its history was represented in every structure within its borders.
It had withstood wars, famine, battles of gods, and the fall of the third moon. It was the location of vaults filled with knowledge that were considered treasures of their own, great works of art, and some of the most brilliant minds and scholars on all of Equis. It was a nation that in its own way was the glue that held the world together, and kept war to a minimum. Its loss was considered impossible, after all it had survived the fall of moons and the fury of gods. No power from this world stood a chance of destroying Kentaur.
So as the great falling tornado of that glorious neon aurora that split the sky came closer, the Centaurs did not worry about it impacting their nation. As it grew larger and larger, a few select groups began preparations to save the nation from losing its valuable knowledge and culture. Activating teleportation arrays, the great treasures of the centaurs were sent to vaults far beyond their borders for safe keeping. Some families used their private teleportation devices or shields to move to a better location to see the back side of the neon aurora anomaly, or to shield their eyes from the intense light.
Overall though, few actually realized the danger that was coming until it was almost upon them. When the first mountain was crushed beneath the magnificent aurora, the sound reverberated across the nation like the wail of a banshee crying for the nation's fate. Like a switch had been turned on, the centaurs realized the impending doom moving towards them in the form of those brilliant colors; a massive tornado of light, beauty, and death,
Evacuations were begun, but few made it out before the hull of the ship within the aurora sliced through the outlying towns like a knife through yak butter. Chaos erupted as the centaurs tried to escape the stunningly beautiful death that was quickly making its way towards them. As plumes of destruction rose up like tidal waves caused by an enraged leviathan from the Aurora of Death as it would later be known, the populace desperately attempted to escape it. The Royal family sent its youngest son through a teleportation array right before the central core crystal was annihilated by the colorful force from beyond and its plume of destruction. As the core crystal that powered the array shattered, that youngest son would be the last centaur to successfully escape the doom of the nation by teleportation array unscathed. His older brother who followed immedietly after him would not be so fortunate.
Within milliseconds of the activation of the array for the elder son, the core crystal's magic broke free, and the chaotic magic storms began.
Appearing in the far flung castle of Night Gleam, The young centaur watched in horror as his older brother who had been right behind him screamed. Scorpan's body was rent in half by the teleportation array failing mid transport, his wound cauterized by the intense magical field that rippled from the array in waves. It did not lessen his pain, nor the trauma endured by his brother Tirek. But he did not die, the poor young centaur instead was forced to watch as his older brother was forcibly and horrifically mutated by the wild magic fields from the sparking array.
His missing lower section was rebuilt in a macabre manner as magic created living sinews from the energy loosed from the shattered core crystal. Bending and twisting, tendons formed into two deformed limbs and a long prehensile tail coated in scaly fur and ending in hooves split into talons. His back stretched and bent outwards, the skin extending then tearing free as wings bones formed from shoulder bones. Skin growing and shifting around the poor former centaur, as leathery wings replaced his strong equine lower body. His face stretched and deformed, becoming akin to a gargoyle's as his forehead formed two protrusions that burst free of the skin; growing into twisted horns. Tears filled his eyes as his mane grew wild and free, rendering his body unrecognizable.
Through it all Scorpan screamed, agony writhing through his form as the alterations settled and he became a creature so unlike what he was. His nerves on fire, his blood twisting in the air as the wild magic of the core refused to let any material go to waste. In a way the core crystal's essence was trying to save the poor centaur, however without directive and shattered into shards and fragments that were strewn across the landscape it had little hope of truly succeeding. The grotesque mockery of what he had been was the result, and the poor young former centaur's mind fell into a state of shock as it ended. Overwhelmed by the unfathomable pain of his transformation so soon after the agony of losing over two thirds of his body, he passed out, still screaming and wailing in his unconscious state for a few very long minutes.
Tirek stood, frozen to the spot as his brother was transformed in a torturous manner. Unaware of alterations to his own body, as his once almond skin turned a deep red and his fur shifted from a beautiful slate blue to a deep almost black grey. He did not notice, shock overwhelming him, as his face too deformed and horns ripped outwards from his skull. As fangs grew from his jaw, and he grew taller and more muscular than any centaur his age should be. Finally, he reached out a hand towards his brother Scorpan, and seeing his deep red orange hand with talon like claws where his manicured fingernails had been; the young centaur let loose a traumatized scream that resounds through the castle and beyond in a voice akin to a demon.
Far away in the now smoldering remains of Kentaur, as the last of the ship and the aurora effect it caused moved away and entered the Caldera of the moon; millions of cries echo across the nation. The survivors would be fewer still in the coming hours, as the chaotic magic of the shattered core will mutate many of them into monstrosities. Those who remain unaffected by the magical mutation will be forced to flee Kentaur, many will not survive the journey; hunted down or massacred by the fiends that were once their family and friends.
Of the population of fifty million inhabitants of Kentaur, only twenty thousand escape the ruined and devastated nation alive and unaffected by the chaotic mutagenic affects of the crystal core. Of those, none are aware of the locations that the treasures and knowledge of Kentaur were sent to; the ones who knew were among the first to mutate after the core shattered or have gone missing.
The Kentaur refugees have no way to rebuild, no resources to call upon; and few options. In this time of great need an old Ally agreed to assist them, the king of the Gargoyles allows the refugees to settle upon a territory by the sea on the edge of the Gargool kingdom. The whereabouts of young Tirek and Scorpan unknown, the leadership of this shattered now nationless kingdom falls to their elder sister Elpisa. She becomes a beacon of hope in this dark time, and though the nation of Kentaur never becomes the power it once was; Elpisa manages to rebuild it and hold the nation together in the time of its greatest peril and tragedy. She is remembered as a hero by the new nation of Centari for all time, as well as its founder.
This event will be known as "The Day of the Dread Aurora of Death", and sagas of the heroic and horrible acts of that day will be told throughout history. Artwork capturing the event will become legendary, and the barrier that blocks all that appeared shortly afterwards will be considered an act of divine intervention.
Myths and lore will obscure the truth of that day, or at least what those who lived in Kentaur believed to be truth. Millenia later, Tirek and Scorpan shall reemerge and attempt to conquer the world. The time between his disappearance and return are shrouded in mystery; though legends from the time describe beings similar to the two travel and doing great things before succumbing to a force of darkness.
Other nations suffered as well from the after shocks of The Legacy's landing. The Fey kingdom of Avalon suffers a disease of corruption that ends in the banishment of an unusual type of Fey shifter mutated by the core crystal's unleashed energies. They change their name to Changeling, though initially fair in appearance time will turn them into rotten, hole ridden, black chitin covered emotional vampires.
The Yaks deal with the awakening of the Coyote and Raven, whose battles and games throw the nation into chaos. The Sea Empire of Oceanica suffers from the "feral sickness" that causes almost an eighth of its population to mutate into monsters and go utterly mad. Forced to exile them to the trenches and seal them away, the Empire splinters into three factions as a result.
The Dragons watch as the eldest of their kind turn to stone, swallowed by impenetrable magic that covers their scales and bodies forcing them into a deep stasis slumber as "living dragon mountains.". The loss strikes them to their core, though they seem not to notice the changes occurred after an elder dragon disappeared after journeying to the Kentaur Void Barrier never to return.
The ponies suffer less than the rest, still bring rather primitive; though the wild magic speeds up their evolution by a few millennia. It is indeed tragic that those who were so aided by this event and were wholly innocent shall suffer under Tirek in the future. The rest of the world suffers greatly in their own ways, too many indeed to describe in detail. However one common myth shall arise in each nation, one core memory of this horrible event fueled by the hopes of beings from beyond.
The legend of the Deadly Aurora shall be told in every nation, in many ways, for all time. Though it shall fall into folklore, the eventual disappearances and "flying gem lights" shall be attributed to the entity behind the Deadly Aurora. For generations uncountable all shall steer as clear as possible of the Kentaur Void, or as it will later be called when one day a gargantuan mountain appears where the Void once was; The Mountain of Demons.
In time what remains of Kentaur, the once indomitable nation, becomes known merely as The Badlands. A place where great mystery exists, and terrors from that time and beyond still roam. Where a mountain that is impossibly large stands where the Dread Aurora of Death disappeared so long ago.
Of course within that particle barrier the AI's and Muses are unaware of any of this. Perhaps if the colonists and crew had made it they would know, or care; but it shall take ages for the AI and Muses to develop any form of personality. By the time that occurs, the terraforming will be completed and the experiments underway; and though they will be aware of what happened they won't be able to do anything about it. When they gain those personalities, they shall take on custom borgtech forms to tell each other apart.
Marie A will in time gain a friendly and jubilant personality, caring and kind it will identify as a she and take on the rule of caring for the species and Calypso as she sleeps. Calypso itself will not awaken as intended, the will to leave the dream that is real is not there; and will not be there for many eons.
Cathedral will become like a sentinel, a guardian of The Legacy and the brain behind many advances made within the barrier. You could say she will become a scientist with a wit, but desire to protect those in her care. She too identifies as a she.
Terra Giant, the behemoth and guardian; will guard the barrier from intrusion. Using the body of a Golem, it shall call itself a he. None shall pass it's wall of impenetrable nanostone for eons, though all walls must one day be breached.
The Muses will regain the personas they had, continuing the work and goals of the old earth. One will take a liking to what it sees in the outside world, and one day escape to experience it for itself. This shall trigger a chain of events that will ripple into the present day, triggering an adventure unlike any other.
Eons upon eons have passed, Tirek the first was defeated and sealed many millennia ago. Tirek the second too has been defeated, Discord has rampaged across the land, the two Alicorn sisters Celestia and Luna have defeated him. Nightmare Moon has come and gone, the Crystal Empire has disappeared and returned; and Chrysalis has been defeated. Starlight Glimmer is now the student of Twilight Sparkle, now an Alicorn. The elements of Harmony have returned to the tree of harmony, and Discord is on the path to reformation.
Now, amidst relative peace; a Muse long trapped in a cavern beneath a certain apple farm shall awaken. And nothing shall ever be the same in the world of Equis again. The world as every being knows it, is about to change forever. And it all starts in the kingdom of Equestria with the uprooting of one ancient, dead, and quite well fossilized seemingly overnight apple tree.